


JFK Meltdown

by Sammy66



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:48:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25799197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sammy66/pseuds/Sammy66
Summary: You try to understand Diego's obsession with saving the president. Number 8!reader, platonic.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves & Reader
Kudos: 11





	JFK Meltdown

You walked into Elliott's place, Diego following close behind. You rolled your eyes at your brother before making your way up to where the rest of your siblings were.   
“Please get him away from me. He hasn’t left me alone all night and I am this close to committing murder.” You demonstrated with your fingers just how close you were to putting an end to your suffering, by putting an end to Diego.  
"Come on, Y/N, with your powers, I'm sure we could save JFK!" he badgered on, and you rolled your eyes once more.   
Five opened his mouth to protest, but you beat him to it. "I already told you, no. I don't care about fucking JFK, and don't you think we've already messed up enough shit? Can you please, please, give up on these delusions of grandeur? I am literally begging you."   
"Fine," he said and you sighed in relief, before he continued, "If you won't help me, then I'll just have to do it by myself." He turned around to leave, and you were tempted to just let him go, to let his absence ease the stress headache that had had your head pounding relentlessly for hours now.   
This was not the first time you'd had this conversation with him. Ever since you had reunited with everyone, he'd been hounding you about saving the president. You frankly had no idea what his obsession with JFK was all about, but there were a lot more pressing issues to focus on. Like getting back to 2019, for example. Now was not the time to run around Dallas, trying to save a man that was supposed to die.   
Five could be quite the little asshole sometimes, but he was definitely the one with the most time traveling knowledge. So you tried to do as he instructed as much as possible. Although, you didn't need Five to tell you that altering a major event in American history was a terrible idea.  
You rubbed at your temples, willing the pressure to leave you. Luther got up from his spot and asked, "Should I go talk to him?"  
You shook your head, letting your arms fall back at your side. "No, I'll go," you said, following after Diego.   
You caught up to him in the street, but he seemed intent on ignoring you, even going so far as to hurrying his pace to try to get rid of you. You scoffed lightly, God, he's such a drama queen, you thought.  
"Hey," you said, bumping your shoulder against his, causing him to finally slow down, only so that he could glare at you. "Ah, c'mon, don't give me that. You know I'm not saying no just to spite you. It's a bad idea, Diego. Nothing good will come of it." You tried to reason with him.  
"Nothing good?" he asked, incredulous. "How about saving a man's life?"  
You shook your head in exasperation as you answered, "But at what cost? Is the life of one man really worth risking the fate of the world?" You knew he was past reason. When he got an idea stuck in his head, he was like a dog with a bone. But you still had to try.  
"Come on, let's sit," you said as you dragged him to a nearby bench, pulling him gently by the arm to make sure he didn't run off again. "What's this all about, really?" you asked softly.  
"What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow at you.  
"I mean, why do you care so much about this? It can't really just be about saving the president."   
He sighed deeply, staying quiet for so long, you thought he had chosen simply not to answer. Until he finally spoke up. "I- I need to be a hero. I need to feel useful. Otherwise I don't… matter." He had mumbled that last word so low you almost didn't catch it.   
You took a second to look at him, shocked by what he'd just said. You could see the desperation in him, the need to do good, to help others. You knew he'd always had a bit of a hero complex, but you didn't know it ran this deep.   
You felt a tear slide down your face and you quickly wiped it away before saying, "Diego." His eyes were still on the ground, and so you reached out to him, placing your hand on his knee. "Diego, I need you to look at me." He didn't react for a few seconds, but then his gaze slowly lifted to yours, and you continued, "Don't you ever say that. Don't say that you don't matter. You don't need to accomplish grand, amazing things for you to matter. You've always mattered to us, to your family. I wouldn't have survived growing up, with dad and all the other bullshit, if it weren't for you.  
"You were my closest friend all these years, and you kept me from going completely insane. We all love you, just the way you are. And you don't need to save JFK to prove that you're worthy of being cared for."   
You weren't sure at which point in your speech he'd started crying, but tears were streaming down his face now. He pulled you into a bone crushing hug, and you just held him, for as long as he needed. "Thank you," he whispered as he let go of you, his voice raspy from the crying.   
You smiled at him, getting up from the bench. "Anytime, little bro." You winked at him as he rolled his eyes at the nickname. It had become your favorite thing to call him, now that you were technically a few months older than him.  
You bumped his shoulder once more as he got on his feet as well. "Come on, let's get back to Elliott's, before Five finds a way to go home and leaves us here in the dust," you said, earning a laugh from Diego as he nodded.   
You weren't exactly convinced that you'd managed to get him to give up on the whole JFK thing, but, for now, walking and laughing with your brother, this was enough.


End file.
